The first, and quickest, way to get feedback to see if the students are meeting the objective is to ask. I can ask students to state the difference between a fact and an opinion, then ask them to identify facts and opinions in a passage. This encourages participation, which is important in an ESL class because I want them all to practice speaking in English, but it also offers immediate feedback for the student as well as the teacher. One drawback for this method is that there will usually be one or more students that do not offer their participation. One way to deal with that is to call on students instead of waiting for students to offer their answers up. I typically use a mixed method, where I sometimes go with hands up and sometimes random students to make sure all students are getting involved. An extension of this is the self-assessment prompt of asking them how hard they worked on the assignment before turning it in. I like to ask if they are happy with their work and I find that some students will take back the assignment and double check it before handing it in which means they are getting used to self-assessing before they turn in their work.

The second way to get feedback and check to see if the students are meeting the objective is to observe their work. I am always moving around my class while students are working on classwork or group work. I can see what they are doing and how they are doing it without them having to offer up concerns or questions. It can help me gauge how well students are understanding the concepts being taught and how well they are mastering the objective. In the case of this objective, I can see if they are properly identifying facts as facts and opinions as opinions. If they are having trouble, I can use the next method.

The third way to get feedback and see if the students are meeting the objective is to have private talks. Once I observe a student having trouble, I can stop and take a closer look at their thought process. I can make sure I re-teach them anything they may have trouble with without putting them on the spot in class. Other students are busy working and I can make sure struggling students are catching up with the objective. In this case, I can help them look for keywords that would give us a clue that a sentence is a fact or an opinion sentence, like ‘best’ or ‘favorite’ in the case of the latter. In order to make this as effective as possible, it is important to stop and have private talks with students who are doing well also, to make sure other students do not assume anything about the teacher stopping at the desk. Positive reinforcement is worth the time to stop at a desk as well.

My final way of getting feedback and seeing if the students are meeting their objective is one that is forthcoming in my class, but has yet to be used by me and that is a technology based system called Socrative. My school is getting ipads for all the students at the end of this year, and I will be making sure to implement this method as soon as we get them. Much like a clicker, students can offer their answers and the teacher can receive the information in real-time during class. This can be done individually, or in groups.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." (Martin Luther King jr.)

Woman on the Bus

A woman looks at her phone on a bus in downtown Seoul, 2015

Seoul Protest 2015

People from around 120 unions and groups organized the protests on Saturday, December 5th, that saw thousands marching through downtown Seoul. Many people carried signs that said roughly "listen to the people" as they feel the current government is not working for the people but for the Chaebol (large corporations).

Mask Dance

Thousands took to the streets to protest several government plans in Seoul on Saturday, December 5th. They were told not to wear masks because of the "threat of ISIS". The protesters responded by wearing thousands of masks, some dancing traditional samulnori along the way.

Shoulder View

Getting a better view of the traditional Korean dancing at the Bupyeong Festival, this girl sits on dad's shoulders.

Angled Emotion

A man picks up recycling in the city while a little girl pouts in the doorway behind him.

Framing the Street

Tucked into an alley in northern Seoul, graffiti hides as people walk past.

The Clown

A performer prepares to entertain children on Children's Day at Children's Grand Park in Seoul.

Yellow Dust Love

A couple gets intimate during yellow dust season in Myeongdong. "Yellow Dust" is the polluted air that drifts from the Gobi Desert, picking up coal pollution over the cities of China, to Korea.

Rock Reflection

Cape Disappointment, Washington

Launch Pad to the Universe

The Milky Way jetting up from the peaks at Colonial in the North Cascades, Washington

Watercolor Sky

The colors of sunset above Eastern Jeju Island, South Korea

The Race

Two shooting stars race across the night sky at Liberty Bell Peak, Washington

Mt. St. Helens

From Johnston Ridge

The Girl with the Mask

"Park Geun Hye resign" is written across her mask. She speaks loudly without noise in the crowd f nearly a million protesting the president of South Korea on 11/12

Monk in the Front

A million people took to the streets on 11/12 to protest the president in one of the largest protests in Korean history. Many religious leaders joined together to hold signs that read "Park Geun Hye resign"

Man with Candle

One of a million protesting the president of South Korea on 11/12, holding a candle for the vigil and marching to show his support of the president stepping down.

Helping Hands

These girls help this man light his candle as night falls over approximately a million people in the streets of downtown Seoul on 11/12.

Anti-Government DJ Spinning

A DJ spins music for the crowd of protesters on 11/12 as they march against the president of Korea.

A Family Marches

A family marches with candles during the protest on 11/12 that saw a million people spill into the streets of downtown Seoul.

Flying

Flying on the shoulders of her father, this girl had a VIP view of the million person protest against the president on 11/12

Spectacle

Overlooking the crowd in the square, a man surveys the scene. Lights, musicians, food stalls, and a million people peacefully protesting the president and chanting in waves, "Park Geun Hye resign".

Tiring Protest

A little girl yawns on her father's shoulders late into the night as they continue to march against the president.